My Friends,
     Unflappable- a strange sounding word maybe but one that very aptly describes you and me and all those who proclaim Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  Nothing will shake our faith.  We are a strong people whose beliefs are well rooted in Christ and His Church.
     Like Stephen in the first reading from today’s Mass, no one will prevent us from proclaiming Jesus as our Savior and the core figure of our being.   He makes us who we are; His love, kindness, mercy and compassion flows through our veins and prevents us from being overwhelmed by anything that comes our way- even this pandemic.
     We are not super people; we are a supernatural people made so by Christ infusing His very life within us, empowering us to do things that ordinarily we could not do on our own.  His Spirit lives within each and every one of us and gives strength especially when we feel as if we cannot go on.  WITH CHRIST, YOU AND I WIIL GET THROUGH THIS.  Each day we need to turn more and more to Jesus who alone calms the human spirit.  Remember Jesus is always there for us.  What a beautiful comforting thought!
     Stay well and pray for one another,
    God Bless,
    Father John

     Stephen was filled with God’s Spirit and worked great signs and wonders.  He was so taken with the Lord that nothing could interfere with his going out and speaking about this Jesus who did so much good and now is risen and commands him to carry on His work.  
     Of course the powers that be try their best to discredit him. They have people lie about Stephen and do all that they can to make him seem like a person who is against God.  But through it all, Stephen is unflappable.  He remains strong in his conviction.
     In the Gospel, Jesus tells the people to work for food that guarantees eternal life.  The people were just fed by the Lord but Christ tells them the food they just ate- the loaves of bread and fish- are fine but they’re perishable.  Go after the food that doesn’t perish, the food that feeds our souls, the food that will bring us eternal life and that is the Eucharist.  
     We have Jesus Himself telling us - this food is extremely important for our spiritual lives.  He tells us that this will bring us the peace, the joy, the happiness that our hearts yearn for.  Only if more and more people realized the importance of the Eucharist for their lives, our Churches would be filled on Sundays and there would be more people going to Mass during the week.
      You and I have been blessed by the Lord.  We realize the importance of receiving the Lord daily into our hearts.  We know the great feeling we get to have the living Christ within us to help us through our day, to strengthen our spiritual lives, to make us a holier people.
May you and I always feed often at the table of the Lord so that Christ may make us the people that He has chosen as His own.